I don't have children yet, but plan to read to them when I do have them.

My parents read to me all the time. I turned out to love reading, but my brother didn't really. I think it helped us greatly with our vocabulary and spelling though. I also think it's more than just getting a child to learn. That one on one time creates such a special bond, which I think helps children in their social skills and self-esteem.

One of my favorite memories is my mom reading The Velveteen Rabbit to me and my brother.

I am a Primary Education (age 3-grade 3) major, and believe me, reading to children is very much stressed. They have done tons of research about how important the first three years of life are to a person's literacy development. Reading to kids (even newborns) is such a huge thing you can do for them. Do not go overboard with flashcards, etc--that is not very developmentally appropriate, and is probably too much. You just want them to hear language, to see it, to be immersed in it! They need to start making the connections that what you say, what you read, and what you write are related. Believe me, it is amazing what we now know children can learn at early ages and how much of an impact seemingly small things like reading to them can make. *Whew* Sorry--do I sound too much like a teacher?

I saw a special about those "hyper" parents that flashcard their kids half to death. It was frankly disturbing. This one man has a school that teaches parents how to do it. The kids from his very first class are just now getting to be about 13. The reporter (I'm thinking Diane Sawyer) went and found one of the original kids. She tried to show him the same flashcards (capitols of foreign countries) and the kid couldn't name oneeven though he could name them all at 18month (yep, you read that right) . It's a neat parlor trick but it doesn't stick with the kids and you could damage their willingness to learn.

I agree scarlett. I started reading to my son just a few days after we brought him home from the hospital (he's now 4). It really seemed to soothe and relax him just hearing my voice. Now he can't get enough of the brain food.

I've seen that too. There was a two year old reading Macbeth off of flashcards. Why does a two year old need to know shakespeare?? I highly doubt that the child even had a clue about what he was saying.

We were talking a little bit about it on the first page of this thread but I don't think it ever got its own. My little girl has three: Its not easy being big (Sesame Street), The Eye Book (Dr. Seuss), and some Elmo book I cant ever remember the name of.

I've seen that too. There was a two year old reading Macbeth off of flashcards. Why does a two year old need to know shakespeare?? I highly doubt that the child even had a clue about what he was saying.